The study shows that in 2016, the wealth of black households was, on average, about $140,000. In white households it was more than $900,000. Research Economist Daniel Carroll co-authored the report with Dionissi Aliprantis, and says the gap is mostly being driven by a disparity in incomes – something he says researchers have not always grasped.

“Wealth is a stock; it’s something that you build up. Income is what we call a flow; it’s something that arrives at a given rate," said Carroll. "We’re trying to sort of re-start the conversation on that. I wouldn’t say it’s been dismissed, but I think we have to kind of refocus it a little bit.”

Carroll adds that the gap is also driven to an extent by things like the types of investments and their rates of return as well as people’s inheritances.